New pedestrian crossing devices could be coming to Two Rivers.
In his city manager’s report, Kyle Kordell told the council that the city has been counting traffic to try to get the speed limit down to 25 MPH for another portion of Memorial Drive as you get closer to Two Rivers.
The crosswalks would be installed at the intersection of Memorial and Madison Street, as well as Memorial and Lake Streets.
The city would use solar-powered Rapid Flashing Beacons (RFB) instead of a HAWK or high-intensity activated crosswalk beacon because it’s more expensive.
However, before anything can get done, the city needs permission from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation because Memorial Drive is a part of Highway 42.
City Engineer Matt Heckenlaible told the council that the DOT informed them they don’t have a lot of speed data and don’t want to conduct a study.
“We’re taking it upon ourselves to do a very quick analysis to see what type of speeds we’re actually seeing,” he explained. “We downloaded initial data last Friday, and we’re still working through the data to see what the 45 MPH speed limit is.”
Heckenlaible also explained the difference between the RFB and HAWK system.
The RFB just flashes with yellow lights. But the HAWK system is more advanced.
“It’s multiple lights,” the city engineer noted. “It will start out as a dark signal, so all the signal heads are dark. It will then go to a flashing yellow beacon. Then it will turn to a solid yellow beacon and then ultimately a red solid beacon, meaning stop.”
The city submitted a request about 10 to 15 years ago to lower the speed limit on Madison Street to 25 MPH.
The city council didn’t take any action on it since it wasn’t on the agenda.
